Partying hard in your 20s increases your risk of heart problems by NINE times later in life, research suggests
- Surveys of more than million people warned of the dangers of partying hard
- Young adults are up to nine times more likely to develop premature heart disease
- The more recreational substances found, the greater the risk
The ‘live fast, die young’ lifestyle has taken a tragic toll on stars like Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe.
They died in their twenties and thirties after drug and alcohol abuse.
Now, a large study of more than a million people has fired another warning shot about the dangers of partying hard.
It shows that young adults are up to nine times more likely to develop premature heart disease if they regularly use drugs, smoke and drink.
A large study of more than a million people has fired another warning shot about the dangers of partying hard. Photo: Stock
Experts looked at 1.1 million people in the US and compared their intake of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes with the number of heart attacks and strokes.
They found that the higher the number of substances used recreationally, the greater the risk of early heart disease.
The association was even more pronounced in women. A total of 143,319 people had the disease – when a heart attack, angina, or stroke occurs before the age of 55 in men or 65 in women.
For those who regularly used four or more drugs, the risk was nine times higher. The study found that cocaine users were nearly two and a half times more likely to have premature heart disease, while amphetamine users were nearly three times more likely.
The live fast, die young lifestyle has taken a tragic toll on stars like Amy Winehouse (pictured), Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe
The figure for cannabis and other drugs was more than two and a half times. Smokers were almost twice as likely to have premature heart disease, while the figure for drinkers was 50 percent.
Lead author Dr. Anthony Wayne Orr, of Louisiana State University in the US, said: “We are only young once and we must do everything we can to preserve that state for as long as possible.
Studies suggest that one in five young adults abuses a variety of substances and that these poly-drug users often start using at a younger age, thus in poorer health over the long term.
“These people need to be aware of the long-term consequences for their health, aside from the risk of overdose.”
Heart disease affects 7.6 million people in the UK and causes more than one in four deaths.
Singer Miss Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.
American guitar legend Hendrix, also 27, died after a drug visit in 1970, while American actress Miss Monroe, 36, was killed by a barbiturate overdose in 1962.
The research is published in the journal Heart.